From the Editor: Like other state
presidents I am frequently asked for ideas about what chapters can do as constructive
projects in their communities. Peter and Mary Donahue are leaders in the San
Antonio Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas. Last year
their chapter took part in an ambitious and rewarding project that they think
could be carried out by other chapters around the country. This is what they
say:

The ability to go online with a personal
computer is perhaps the most powerful feature of today's technology revolution.
For a blind person this permits access to information not available by any other
means. The chief method of getting information from a remote computer to your
PC is through a worldwide network called the Internet.

The Internet is different things for
different people in a wide variety of professional, educational, and recreational
pursuits. One could easily observe this at the 1996 Internet Odyssey held at
the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. Several members
of the Greater San Antonio Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of
Texas demonstrated the way in which blind people access the Information Superhighway
using a personal computer and adaptive technology. We discussed the way the
PC has opened up countless educational and job opportunities for the blind and
expressed our concerns about our ability to achieve unlimited access to the
Information Superhighway in the future.

In addition, chapter members learned
how PCs and the Internet work together to move information around the world.
We even learned how the Internet touches our lives and gained a deeper understanding
of how positive attitudes about blindness among the blind and sighted alike
can help achieve our goals of security, equality, and unlimited opportunity
for all blind people. What follows is an account of the chapter's participation
in this event as told by Greater San Antonio Chapter Secretary Peter Donahue.

Our participation in the Internet Odyssey
began in an unlikely place, the laundry room at the apartment complex where
Mary and I live. I was walking through the laundry room on my way back to our
apartment when I met Mrs. Carolyn Awalt, one of our neighbors and a multi-media
specialist at United States Automobile Association (USAA), one of San Antonio's
largest employers and insurers of military personnel.

Mary and I were looking for an Internet
provider that could provide a shell account which would allow us to access the
Internet using MS-DOS. Ms. Awalt told us about her provider, Texas Net. Several
other chapter members were already on Texas Net, and we eventually got an account
with this provider. While talking to Mrs. Awalt, I brought up our concerns about
the increasing threat to our ability to access the Information Superhighway
because of the graphical user interface and graphical web-browsers. In response
she said, "This sounds like something you need to tell people at the South
Texas Internet Odyssey. Everyone who has anything to do with the Internet will
be there; that would be the place to air your concerns."

Mrs. Awalt explained that, unlike most
computer- and Internet-related shows which spend most of their time razzle-
dazzling their audiences with claims about the latest Internet hardware and
software trying to entice would-be buyers, the South Texas Internet Odyssey
emphasized what the Internet is and the ways many people from many backgrounds
and from a wide variety of educational and vocational callings use it. She said
that until now there had been little participation in this event by members
of the disabled community. She urged us to change that. I told her that it sounded
like a great idea and that, if our members wanted to participate, we would need
to be put in touch with the organizers so we could make arrangements about our
needs. "You make the decision to participate, and I'll see that your concerns
are addressed."

In the weeks that followed the chapter's
board of directors discussed the matter at length and decided to participate
in the 1996 Internet Odyssey. We had many questions about how we would carry
out this project. First was the problem of the computers we would need. No one
wanted to risk transporting their fragile hardware and software or do without
it at home during the entire event. Moreover, there was always the possibility
of theft if the security at the show was lax.

But then it occurred to me that several
of us used both Vocal-Eyes from GW Micro, a screen reader for accessing DOS-based
applications, and JAWS for Windows from Henter-Joyce, a program for accessing
Windows applications. Both of these programs support the Braille 'n Speak from
Blazie Engineering, so we could use the Braille 'n Speak as a speech synthesizer.
This arrangement would be extremely portable, requiring only a simple set-up
and take-down, and we could take the equipment home at night. If we could load
the software onto a PC at the show, we wouldn't even have to worry about carting
computers back and forth every day.

But could show organizers provide the
PC? Mrs. Awalt contacted Richard Wadsworth, a professor of computer science
at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He said he was glad to hear that
we wanted to participate in this year's show and promised to give us all the
help we needed, including a PC and transportation for participating chapter
members. He even saw to it that we had a phone line for the modem and technical
and personal support during the show.

My chance meeting with Mrs. Awalt occurred
in late August, and the Internet Odyssey was to take place in late October.
We had just under two months to put an exhibit together, but we were up to the
challenge. We briefly looked for a personality to increase the attractiveness
of our exhibit, but the notice was too short. We soon discovered that no other
NFB chapter had tried a project like this one, so, though we had encouragement
from Mr. Ring at the International Braille and Technology Center and Curtis
Chong, President of the NFB in Computer Science, we were on our own to do the
best we could.

As the show date drew closer, things
gradually fell into place. We decided to set up our display in the area for
vendors. We shared the location with the San Antonio Express News, our local
newspaper; the International Bank of Commerce (IBC); and Diamond Computers,
to name a few of many. The important thing was that we were taking our message
of hope and a positive view of blindness to the Internet community to help its
members understand our concerns about continued full access to the Information
Superhighway for blind people and our ability to compete for jobs requiring
the use of personal computers.

When we learned that there was to be
a seminar component to the show, we asked to be included in that program as
well. These seminars covered using the Internet;

Real Audio (a program for listening to
radio broadcasts from around the world through the Internet); designing World
Wide Web pages; and video conferencing to conduct business meetings and seminars
from headquarters to field offices around the world on the Internet. Our request
was granted. We would give our presentation on Monday, October 28, at 5 p.m.

In the weeks before the event we worked
out the final details of our participation in the show. Professor Wadsworth
turned transportation over to Mrs. Margaret Halsema, who by herself handled
rides to and from the convention center from all around the city. Lisa Hall
and I went to the convention center on the morning of October 26 to set up the
equipment and to install the screen-reading software and Procomm Plus, the communications
software.

This was the first time that any of us
had used Netscape Navigator since none of us had ever used a Windows Web browser,
but we wanted to show folks that Internet access through Windows was possible.
As soon as our network connection was working, I got a crash course in using
Netscape Navigator. Jaws for Windows has macros that make Navigator more speech-friendly,
so it was not too hard to master. On this trip we brought the literature to
be distributed during the show.

We were not prepared for what awaited
us upon arriving at the hall where the Internet Odyssey was being held. The
scene was more reminiscent of a warehouse rummage sale than a computer exhibition.
When we walked in, we encountered scaffolding, large bags, barrels, boxes, trash,
pieces of plywood, and machinery parked everywhere. It was a hot day, and the
air conditioning was not yet working. The humidity in that room was fierce.

The place smelled of oil, gasoline, and
tar; dust was everywhere. Because we had good travel skills, we traversed this
obstacle course with ease. But there was nothing to do but wait until the mess
was transformed into the setting for a computer show. We decided that I should
come back in the evening to set up the equipment for the next day.

In fact, I didn't get to do anything
in our booth until after 9:00 p.m. that evening when the computers arrived.
Establishing the network for the computer show was an interesting process to
watch, but I had my hands full when I began loading the software that we would
need. I didn't finish the installation until well after midnight. The next morning
we did the final installation of software and made last-minute preparations.

We were ready for the opening of the
show at 12 noon when we heard the unmistakable opening chords to the theme from
2001: A Space Odyssey, indicating that the show was open and ready to receive
the public. As that afternoon passed, we were visited by many persons, including
some teachers of the blind and local business persons and others interested
in what we had to share with show visitors.

In addition to distributing our literature,
we displayed the NFB WEB site and showed visitors the wealth of information
about blindness they could find there. We discovered that keeping the computer
talking was the key to keeping the public coming to our booth. When the speech
stopped, President Sofka would shout: "Come on, Pete, get that speech going!
That's what's got them coming over here, so keep it going!"

Some of those who listened to the speech
complained that they could not understand what was being said. We explained
that understanding synthetic speech, especially less-human-sounding synthetic
speech, requires one to develop an ear for what is being said and how words
are being pronounced. Since we use synthetic speech regularly, our ears are
accustomed to it, and we can understand what is being said. However, even some
blind people can't understand synthesized speech, and for them and some others
large print or Braille access is more desirable.

Several of us worked the computer, taking
turns during the show. Those who weren't computer-literate were put to work
handing out literature and talking to visitors about the NFB in general. Suffice
it to say, anyone who wanted to help had a job to do. The high point of the
show for us came Monday afternoon, October 28, when we gave our seminar on computer
access for the blind. When the announcement was made, people came running from
everywhere. Vendors closed down their booths, and even the workers in the CyberCafe
came over to see what all the fuss was about. Later we were told that there
were fifty to one hundred people at our seminar--the largest number of attendees
at any of the seminars during the entire show.

President Sofka welcomed everyone and
gave a brief explanation of what the NFB was and what we were hoping to accomplish
at the Internet Odyssey. Following his speech several of us demonstrated the
ways we accessed various components of the Internet. Scott Edwards used Gopher,
a program that provides text-based access to various online archives such as
the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped's book
collection. Then Lisa Hall demonstrated Internet Relay Chat (IRC), which allows
one to talk over the Net in real time with folks from around the world. Prior
to the show she had arranged with some of her friends on Genie, one of several
widely-known online services, to meet her in one of Genie's chat rooms. These
are areas where people can meet to discuss matters of specific interest such
as surfing the Internet, for example. Her demonstration was received with much
applause from the audience.

But the climax of the seminar was the
sending of an e-mail message around the world on seven different blindness-related
mailing lists or listservs. Since we wanted to let the blind of the world know
what we were doing to improve access to information and to raise awareness of
the need to protect this access, we felt it appropriate to do this in the hope
that others would be inspired to do what we were doing. The message read in
part:

Blind people of the world,

This message is coming to you from the
Henry B.

Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio,
Texas. We are participating in the 1996 South Texas Internet Odyssey to show
how blind persons can use a personal computer and adaptive technology and to
raise awareness of the threat to our continued ability to access the Information
Superhighway posed by the ever-increasing use of graphical user interfaces,
bitmap-images, and other factors. The members of the Greater San Antonio Chapter
of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas would like to encourage you
to do what you can to promote awareness of these issues, including participating
in events similar to this one. Greetings from all of us, and let's keep the
Net accessible to the blind.

Yours truly,

James Sofka, President

Greater San Antonio Chapter

National Federation of the Blind of Texas

Throughout the week we received responses
to that message, congratulating us on our efforts. Some people even shared information
about what they were doing in their communities or countries to heighten awareness
of the challenges faced by blind computer users. But the highest compliment
we received came from Marti Knight, one of the principal organizers of the Internet
Odyssey. He said, "If we have accomplished anything at all this year, this
is it. Showcasing the use of the Internet by the disabled will more than justify
what we have spent in time, money, and manpower to put on this show. This is
an area we need to expand in the coming years."

The show concluded on October 29, and
all of us were exhausted, but we all felt good about a job well done. I believe
that not only the sighted public but we ourselves took away something important
from this show. For one thing we were the first group of the disabled to exhibit
at this show. In addition, we proved to ourselves that, no matter what the size,
any of our chapters can stage events such as this when chapter members work
together to see the task through.

Some of us also took away something deep
and personal individually. I for one did. Helping to put this event together
for our chapter led me once more to confirm something about myself. I thrive
on challenge, and when challenging situations are absent from my life or when
the outcome is unsuccessful, I tend to turn in on myself. When I was a child
being educated at several residential schools for the blind, students were never
challenged to reach beyond themselves in any way. Experiences like the Internet
Odyssey remind me how much healthier it is to reach beyond and to experience
success. I thank God that today's blind children and their parents have the
National Federation of the Blind to encourage them to stretch and grow.

Since the show a number of things have
happened as a direct result of our participation in this event. For one thing
our chapter now has a World Wide Web site: http://www.txdirect.net/users/sdyer/nfb/
We welcome all you Web surfers to visit us online.

Several of our members are now on the
Internet Odyssey Team, the organization that oversees and organizes the Internet
Odyssey and other events to support this and other Internet-related projects
here in San Antonio. One of these is installing computer networks in local schools
so that the students can have access to the Net for educational purposes.

Our work here in San Antonio has sparked
interest in having a similar show in El Paso. We have already contacted members
of our Greater El Paso Chapter about this proposed event, and they are excited
about participating in a show in their area similar to ours. We would strongly
urge all local chapters and state affiliates to participate in computer shows.
There is a tremendous potential for doing public education of computer professionals
and amateurs through a show such as this. This participation could pay back
big dividends for us in the coming years.

Consider this example. The Internet Multi-media
Academy is an organization that, among other things, teaches school-aged students
how to design and write computer software for educational purposes. We have
requested to be a part of this organization in order to help the kids understand
the necessity for designing their programs so that they are accessible to and
usable by the blind. At a recent planning meeting of the Internet Odyssey team
I heard from a woman who told the group that her son teaches software and web-page
design. As a part of his curriculum his students are now required to design
their projects so that they can be accessed by blind persons. We haven't solved
all of our access problems just by participating in one computer exhibition,
but we have planted the seeds of knowledge and understanding. We are excited
about participating in this year's Internet Odyssey, and we invite everyone
interested to come to this year's show.

It will take place October 12 and 13,
1997, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. It is
exciting to know that we have gained some strong allies in our fight to keep
computers and the Internet accessible to the blind. Let's spread the good news
that even in cyberspace we are changing what it means to be blind.